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Note: This post contains mentions of harassment and suicide.
Throughout the seemingly never-ending Great Resignation, we've been talking a lot about how to successfully avoid burnout in the workplace and what we can do to improve work-life balance. However, what we're not discussing enough are the "industry standard" practices within many fields that contribute to — or flat-out cause — toxic work environments in the first place.
Recently, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share the "inherently toxic" practices within their industry that most people wouldn't otherwise know, and their responses were far more varied than you might think.
They prove that no matter what your job is (or how much money you make), you've likely been in the unfortunate situation of having to abide by less-than-healthy industry standards — regardless of what it can do to your mental health.
1. "I'm a delivery driver for a shipping company, and the war they wage on your personal life is constant. Just to spend more time with your family, you need to request to have a 'reduced week,' and that’s still a minimum of 47.5 paid hours. You're then given extra work or you'll be harassed and targeted constantly to be made an example out of..."
"Have a medical issue or need a day off? It better not be more than six times in a year, or you’ll be on the way to a termination hearing. It’s a strange industry — the people you actually serve are great and rewarding, but the companies themselves are not."
—Anonymous
2. "We teachers are literally brought to breakdown because of state testing numbers. The pressure to 'teach to the test' is real and ridiculous. But here's what very few people consider:"
"Say I was your dentist, and you and I have a lovely professional relationship. I give you all the tools and information you need to keep your teeth healthy. On your next visit, you have five cavities. Is it the dentist's fault? Absolutely not — you didn't do what you needed to do at home to keep your teeth healthy. However, teachers can do absolutely everything to the best of their abilities in the classroom, but we have no control what goes on at home or what happens when a child is taking a test. No one screams that cavities are the dentist's fault. But if students don't make adequate progress, only the teacher is to blame."
3. "I'm a veterinarian. Clients accuse us every day of being money-hungry crooks — that we're just recommending treatment your pet doesn’t need, just because we want to squeeze every last dime from you. If we don’t offer to do things for free, it’s because we 'don’t love animals' or we’re 'only in it for the money.' We are highly educated and in student debt up to our eyeballs, yet veterinarians are literally killing themselves at an alarming rate due to compassion fatigue, cyberbullying, burnout, and unrelenting hopelessness. People are leaving the profession in droves — sometimes in caskets. Think a little before you scream at your vet next time."
4. "I work in mental health. It’s normal to see very few job postings that list salaries, and for the ones that do, it’s often under $35,000 annually for a position that requires a master's degree. Most also require a full license and refuse to consider anyone who recently graduated — regardless of their related experience. I’m in a big city with a lot of counseling and clinical psych programs, and because there are so many students who have to work for free to get training hours completed, you’re basically disposable. Getting treated terribly is the norm."
"When we're training, we could be asked to work 24-hour weeks on top of full course loads and dissertation work, all for a degree that costs the same as going to med school but will likely see our salary max out at around $120,000. It's still a lot of money, but nothing compared to being an MD.
"I went to a conference last fall where a European presenter described mental health infrastructure in the US as an 'administrative model.' It encapsulated so many of the problems I've encountered, and it was helpful in making peace with my decision to quit my doctorate unless I could do it in a country where I could survive — or even enjoy — a career in this field."
—Anonymous
5. "I'm a scuba instructor. While it's a recreational sport that most healthy people can easily become certified to do, it is also VERY dangerous when not done properly. People are on vacation and think, Oh, we'll do this for a bit of fun, but then get upset when they're told there are 8 to 10 hours of coursework, followed by two days of learning skills in the water. We get paid very little — about $2,000 a month if we're lucky — and our whole job is to make sure you don't die. When I say 'Don't do that or you might die,' I'm not joking; I've had it happen. But especially as a petite blonde woman, I tend not to get taken seriously in this industry."
"Earning $2,000 a month plus tips is not enough to pull unconscious people from the water and perform CPR until an ambulance arrives. We may look like beach bums who live in paradise, but we are highly trained professionals in teaching, physics, physiology, navigation, and emergency first response. Treat your scruffy dive master with respect. They know more than you. And tip well."
6. "I'm a pastor, and the option to be cremated is a nightmare for us. Before cremation became this popular, when someone died, we would have to hold a funeral within three days in order to get the body into the ground. Now folks expect to schedule a service for their loved one at the family's convenience with their preferred pastor on a Saturday so out-of-town folks can be there. Just because they can. We had 37 deaths last year. People don't realize that most clergy work Sunday through Thursday. Saturday is the only day off I have with my nonclergy spouse, and having to work Saturdays constantly is not sustainable for my marriage or my personal health. Holding any sort of boundary — no, I will not do funerals three Saturdays in a row — is framed as being 'selfish' and not 'loving God.' Yet people wonder why so many pastors are quitting."
7. "I work for a large labor union. I personally believe (and statistics have shown) that members of unions have far better working conditions than non–union members. However, the employees of labor unions are treated like animals..."
"You are expected to work around the clock. You have no work-life balance, and you're forced to answer your phone 24/7 on the first ring. The most astounding part is that they usually will not allow you to form a union yourself to fight for better working conditions, because they know they can't run a successful business without mistreating their employees. If they do let you have a union, it's a union they form for you and control — which is illegal."
—Anonymous
8. "Zookeeping is a horribly toxic career. Don't get me wrong — I love it, and it's been a privilege to get close to and help some of the most endangered species on the planet — but it's incredibly hard, both physically and emotionally. The industry expects people to be highly qualified and experienced for extremely bad pay, and because literally thousands of people apply for the few jobs that come up, the phrase 'If you don't like it, I've got 100 people waiting to take your job' is heard all too frequently. We could go on strike or take a stand, but who would look after the animals? They depend on us every single day, and managers have us cornered because they know we would never let the animals down."
9. "I don't think people realize just how much casual hate is thrust onto journalists. I've had people blame me for every problem in the country — even though I was merely doing a 'man on the street' segment about rising prices. Multiple people have said things akin to me having 'sold my soul' when I tell them what I do. And when it comes to the online hate, it's as if they believe we sit around plotting agendas instead of reporting on real things that are happening. When random people ask me what I do for a living, I just tell them I'm a real estate agent."
10. "I'm a lifeguard. People often don't see just how much we go through in order to keep our jobs. You have so many people's lives in your hands, including the people making gross comments about your body. We deal with extreme temperatures every single year, and I've been verbally berated multiple times because we have to close when there's lightning in the area. Meanwhile, we have to stay on our stands even if there's lightning directly above us, because we have to make sure that all the guests are off the deck before we can safely leave ourselves. We lifeguards really do often find ourselves in harm's way, but people just think that we're 'being jerks' because we have to tell people they can't do things."
11. "Does society's treatment of the deathcare industry count as toxic? I work at a funeral home, and the pandemic hasn't been easy. There are long days when it feels like we're taking a new call every few minutes. We're open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year — just like a hospital. We're the last people who take care of a person. When I can't get off early for holidays when we're busy, my family questions me about it. When the nurses in the family couldn't leave early for the same reasons, they were heroes."
"Here's the cherry on top: The hospitals I work with aren't in a partnership with us. Trying to get paperwork, legal documents, and permits from them is nearly impossible because once you die, they no longer have time for you. It's fucking sad."
—Anonymous
12. "In wealth management, you're at your highly affluent clients' beck and call at ALL hours. A couple of people in my company have even been given 'God phones' by their clients that they are to answer as soon as it rings. With the fees they are paying, they demand and expect it."
13. "The 'sink or swim' culture in consulting is unbelievably toxic, and it produces absurd working hours for us. While most of the people at the company I work for are fine and helpful, I've seen resistance toward initiatives meant to train junior employees systematically. I've been thrown in the deep end and burnt out during my first year because I was given tasks I did not have the tools to do properly, and my colleagues were in the same boat too. I'm guessing the idea is to keep the consulting industry reserved for the brightest self-starters, but as a result, the everyday working culture keeps you feeling dumb and insufficient."
—Anonymous
14. "Physician here. Most people focus on how much doctors make, but they don't realize how much doctors work. Residency training programs pay a modest income and have a 'limit' of 80 hours per week. Most hospital-based physicians work somewhere between 60 and 80 hours a week, even 10 years out from training. And because doctors cannot unionize, hospital systems always have the leverage in any negotiation for better work environments."
15. "I work in an accounting firm, and we run ourselves into the ground during tax season. You work ridiculous amounts of hours and put your life on hold for four months of the year. It's no way to live. Most places pay salary (but with mandatory unpaid overtime) — 150 or even 200 extra hours to be worked from Jan. 1 through April 15 every year. By the time you break down your salary into an hourly rate, you're really only making $15 an hour."
—Anonymous
16. "I'm a teacher at a private preschool. Quite a few of my students' parents are NFL and NBA players. The tuition each month is astronomical, but I make less money per hour than the starting pay rate at McDonald's. Just a few of my many duties include teaching my students Spanish and sign language, preparing three STEM lessons per day, plus potty training and changing diapers every hour. Sadly, many of my 4-year-old students are still in diapers because they aren't potty-trained at home. It's by far the hardest and lowest-paying job I've ever had, and I sure as hell wouldn't do it if I didn't love working with kids."
"It's stressful work, and the turnover rate is incredibly high. I asked my boss for a raise and she refused. l went to go and grab my things and just walk out, but one of my students asked me, 'Are you okay, Mommy?" and I stayed. People don't leave this industry because of the kids — they leave because the people in charge have plenty of means to pay their employees more. They just won't."
17. "The nonprofit sector is no more moral than the corporate sector just because their jobs are geared toward 'helping' people. CEOs are paid enormously for what is often very little work, and often get jobs because of connections alone...just like 'corporate' jobs. The job turnover is also outrageous, which leads to people straight out of college accepting jobs they have no business having, which in turn leads to overlooking vulnerable populations and creating more issues. You will be worked harder than a teacher, often for less money, and have your empathy exploited until you just end up leaving or not doing your job well. Of course this isn’t ALL nonprofits...but it’s way too common for my liking."
—alex
18. "The casino industry is probably the most toxic workplace in the world. People can't gamble enough. Sexual harassment is rampant. Abusive language is a daily thing. If you are a sensitive person, you won't make it long. 'Dummy up and deal with it' is one of the first things I was told when I started in the industry. I couldn't possibly list every single thing I have seen or put up with during my time here. The baseness of humanity is on full display in cities like Las Vegas."
19. "Public relations is wildly toxic as a whole. Behind each and every campaign for a client is an ego-driven, cutthroat executive. Media spokespeople steal others' contributions daily, and they just trade stories with journalists to create spin. Everyone connected to them is mutually manipulated — if you care, you’re just 'vulnerable.'"
—Anonymous
20. "I’m a nurse. The entire healthcare system is broken and designed to keep you sick and in debt from medical bills so that the CEOs of facilities can have their sky-high bonuses. In fact, there is a hospital right now, University Medical Center in Nevada, that cut crisis pay and started requiring mandatory overtime. This hospital is unionized and they are fighting it. The chief nursing officer even sent out a nasty letter detailing all of this and placing the blame on nurses for why it’s happening."
21. "One of the major reasons I quit teaching preschool was that people take pride in burning out. The job requires you to teach children how to care for their own basic needs, and in doing so, ours were always ignored. We couldn't even leave the classroom to use the bathroom because coverage was never available. If we were sick, we would be bullied into returning because 'coverage was needed.' I remember puking in a trash can in front of all my students because I was so sick. I was told by my director, who gave me a two-minute break, to 'clean myself up' in the bathroom and return to class."
—Anonymous
22. "I work in the car industry, and if the toxic masculinity wasn't bad enough, the expectation is that if you want to sell cars, you have to work six-plus days a week — at the bare minimum, you're on call 24/7. Like anyone else, we want to enjoy holidays with our families too, but it's nearly impossible while working in this industry."
23. "I do gig work to make money while I work toward my graduate degree. 'Tip baiting' is a BIG issue! Before we accept jobs, we're able to see what we'll be paid for it — tip included. However, customers are allowed to change the tip within 24 hours if service is less than expected. I don't feel that it's a particularly unfair policy, but people more and more are offering generous tips, only to adjust it to zero after the order is accepted. To make matters even worse, they'll often leave bad reviews just to justify the reduction."
"Not only do I lose the tip I worked for — like hauling 10 cases of water up four flights of stairs — but now I'm stuck with a low rating I didn't deserve, which means I'm offered less jobs or lower-quality jobs. A single rating under 5 stars reduces my income by 30–60% for months. MONTHS. My ability to eat and pay rent depends on getting good ratings. Please do not rate your gig worker for things that are clearly not their fault. Also, if you can't afford to tip, don't use the service. I'm broke AF, but I do use this service once in a blue moon...and you better believe I tip a MINIMUM of 20%. I'm so tired of my income being in the hands of people with a complete and utter lack of empathy."
—Anonymous
24. "I’m a dental hygienist. We typically don't get benefits at our jobs, and we're expected to clock out when our patients don't show up. You never really know what your paycheck will be, and you have zero control over your own schedule — that's all up to the receptionists working. And while sometimes they care enough to keep your schedule full for the day, oftentimes they don't."
25. "I’m a consultant for a pretty big firm, and one huge part of the industry's culture is drinking. We have beer on tap at the office, along with refrigerators filled with booze. We are constantly encouraged to drink at happy hours and outings. This can get incredibly toxic — especially for those of us who are recovering alcoholics."
—Anonymous
26. "I work in higher education — specifically in on-campus housing. My job requires me to live on campus with residents. While it's certainly a necessity in regards to on-call response, it makes the whole concept of work-life balance tremendously difficult."
"Neither the students nor their parents understand that I don’t work 24/7 and will not respond to an 11:30 p.m. Saturday email about your child 'needing' an immediate room switch because they can’t agree on whether to have the TV on or off when they are sleeping."
—Anonymous
27. "I've worked for over 15 years in the nonprofit sector, where it’s incredibly common for leadership (both board members and staff) to promote the 'You don’t do it for the money' culture. It seems altruistic and idealistic, but really, it’s just an excuse to underpay and overwork naive nonprofit professionals. Because in the end, we all do it for the money. Why else would we work? How else are the bills going to be paid?"
—Anonymous
28. "I clean vacation rentals for a living. It’s amazing how entitled people act over paying a cleaning fee, and the things they'll do to a property (that I have to take care of) just because they're paying it. No, you definitely don't have to clean the whole place before leaving...but trashing it for absolutely no reason other than to spite the owner for a cleaning fee is beyond rude. Yes, it's my job to clean — but there's a difference between tidying up a real mess and having to clean up after entitled guests."
29. "Car dealerships are so toxic. The emotional roller coaster of never knowing how much my paycheck will be is exhausting, and I've been in the industry for a long time. On top of that, the pressure to sell as much as possible in order to actually make a living off of commission really takes a toll on you."
"The customer service survey report is awful too. If even one customer gives me a 7 or 8 out of 10, I could lose $1,000 or more in pay — even if the low score was something finance did and the customer loved me.
"Last, before my state mandated an hourly wage for all commissioned salespeople, car salespeople were expected to work from opening until closing, which was typically 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. If a salesperson's customer wanted to pick up their car on a day they have off, they'd have to come in to work and go over the features of the car with the customer. If they didn't show up, the person who did the 'delivery' for them got half the credit and half their commission for the sale."
—Anonymous
30. "I work in the mortgage industry, which has always been incredibly male-dominated. My husband and I have owned our own company for over 20 years. I am the president and broker, and I've been successful all on my own...but no matter what, vendors, staff, and clients go directly to my husband instead of me almost every time. It's incredibly insulting that men in my line of business look at me as though I'm less knowledgeable or successful, just because I'm a woman."
31. "Nurse aides, especially female ones, are expected to tolerate a lot of abuse. It's one thing if the patient is dealing with mental illness and 'not themselves' at the time, but we are expected to just deal with it...even from patients who are fully alert, oriented, and capable of making sound decisions. We deal with everything from physical violence to verbal abuse and even sexual harassment. All we hear from those in charge is, 'Well, you signed up for this." NO, WE DIDN'T."
"We fully understand that shit happens sometimes, but we should be able to rely on management, HR, and even our coworkers to support us and validate us. Instead, we get labeled as 'not fit for the job' or just 'dramatic.' Hospitals would rather sweep it under the rug than risk a lawsuit or bad publicity."
32. "I work in the event industry. It's all Instagram photo booths on the outside, but on the inside it’s grueling, insanely stressful, and not at all rewarding. All the talk about how expensive weddings are now is true…except none of that trickles down to the employees. We’re one of the lowest-paid industries, even though we work six or seven days per week and 10 to 20 hours a day during busy season — which, postpandemic, is always. In any city where pandemic restrictions were lifted really quickly, we were understaffed and overworked, but do you think the mother of a bride cares about that? No way in hell."
"We’re yelled at over things like a single light being off or charger plates being unavailable. Most guests don’t even know what a charger plate is…yet we’re still reprimanded over it. Tons of these event companies don’t offer benefits, either. Lots of the smaller businesses simply can’t afford it, or if they can, they don’t really care, since turnover is the norm anyway. Last thing: Men are still treated better, make more, and get promoted easier, even in a 'female-dominated' industry."
—alrg
33. "I work in local government, and regardless of what you might think, we aren’t lazy, idiotic drones. We’re people who have taxes and bills to pay just like you, and we are often underpaid for our responsibilities. People think that because 'their taxes pay our salary,' they are entitled to treat us as less than they are. It’s amazing how people who have no idea how to do your job will go out of their way to berate, harass, and bully you, all because they couldn’t be bothered to learn the basic rules of the town or city they chose to live in."
—Anonymous
34. "I work in construction administration in the Bay Area. It is common for everyone to work 10-hour days and then be asked to rotate working on Saturdays without getting paid extra. The other day my boss, our senior project manager, told me that I couldn't work remotely...because 'If I wasn't sitting at my desk in the office, I wasn't working.' What a joke. I can't wait until I can leave this industry."
35. "Kids reading this: If you ever start dreaming of majoring in accounting so you can work at one of the 'coveted' 'Big Four' accounting firms, then I plead you to stop it immediately. You don’t get paid enough for the 80 to 100 hours per week that you have to work, without overtime. If you want to succeed, you'll have no time for anything but work. You'll get nothing but an extremely unhealthy version of yourself, and you'll be burned out, even before you hit 30."
Are there any inherently toxic aspects of the industry you work in? Tell us about it in the comments below. ⬇️
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.